Six public sector banks – United Bank of India, Allahabad Bank, Andhra Bank, Syndicate Bank, Corporation Bank and Oriental Bank of India – are no more in existence from 1 April as they have merged with larger PSU banks to make 4 distinct entities capable of scale and competition with the best in the country. The anchor banks into which they have merged are Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, Union Bank and Indian Bank. This will be one of the biggest bank consolidations in the Indian banking sector. The department of financial services of the government of India said this amalgamation will mark a new dawn for Indian banking making them bigger and stronger to offer faster loan processing, banking @ home, need-driven credit and specialized products for customers. The amalgamation took place in a muted environment when the country was facing the global pandemic of COVID-19 and a nationwide lock down. United Bank of India and Oriental Bank of Commerce will now be Punjab National Bank, Syndicate Bank will function as part of Canara Bank, Allahabad Bank as Indian Bank and Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank as Union Bank of India. Punjab National Bank post-merger will be the second largest nationalised bank of the country in terms of business and branch network after the State Bank of India. It will have a geographical reach through 11,000 plus branches, more than 13,000 ATMs, 100,000 employees and a business mix of over ₹18,000 billion. The consolidation will mean there will be 7 large public sector banks in the country and 5 smaller public sector banks. Pre-merger there were 27 public sector banks. Apart from the merged entities and the State Bank of India, the other PSU banks are: Indian Overseas Bank, Uco Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Punjab and Sind Bank, Bank of India and Central Bank of India.
Punjab National Bank, post the merger of United Bank of India and Oriental Bank of Commerce with it, has unveiled a new logo. It will have the distinct signages of all the 3 public sector lenders. The bank said there is no reason for the employees or customers of the 4 banks to be concerned because the 3 banks are coming together to be better, bigger and stronger.
